Extending working lives: A work ability perspective

The concept of work ability, defined as a person’s ability or perceived ability to meet their job demands, has garnered attention in the organisational sciences in recent years due to its ability to predict important work and labour force outcomes. However, there are gaps in the work ability literature, and there is still much to be understood about the concept of work ability and its nomological network. First, literature on work ability has been criticized due to its lack of conceptual clarity. Second, measures of work ability have been criticized for unclear psychometric properties. Third, there is limited research looking at if and how work ability changes over short periods of time, in part due to some measures of work ability asking respondents to reflect on the past two years. Finally, although a few studies have reviewed the literature on how interventions may improve work ability, the findings have been inconsistent perhaps due to limited sample size (Oakman et al., 2018; Tarro et al., 2020), with more studies accumulating in recent years. In response to these gaps, this thesis had the following three aims: (1) to develop a more complete, psychometrically sound measure of perceived work ability; (2) to assess how the perception of one's work ability changes over time; and (3) to assess the effectiveness of different types of interventions at increasing work ability. Three studies were conducted to address these aims. Study 1 (Chapter 4) developed and validated the Multidimensional Perceived Work Ability Scale (M?PWAS), a new perceived work ability measure comprising four work ability dimensions: physical, cognitive, interpersonal, and emotional work ability. Based on past discussions of the work ability concept (Brady et al., 2020; Cadiz et al., 2019; McGonagle et al., 2015), I used the JD-R model to examine the validity of the M-PWAS. The results of this study demonstrated that the M-PWAS has high internal consistency, factorial validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity in predicting the theorized outcomes of work ability. Building on theseindings, Study 2 (Chapter 5) examined the changes in the four work ability dimensions over time. After demonstrating measurement invariance of the M-PWAS, the findings of this study established within-person fluctuations in work ability dimensions over 6-week intervals. The third and final study (Chapter 6) involved a meta-analytic review of the effects of work-related interventions on enhancing work ability. Based on the JD-R model, I developed a classification of four different types of interventions: psychosocial, physical, organisational, and multimodal. The results showed that work-related interventions can improve work ability. Furthermore, the meta?analysis found differences in intervention type: Multimodal and psychosocial interventions were the most effective interventions, followed by physically focused interventions. Organisational interventions did not show significant pre-post improvement in work ability, but intervention groups participating in organisation interventions showed a significant improvement in work ability compared to control groups. In summary, the current thesis contributes to our understanding of the work ability construct and its measurement and identifies ways of improving work ability. I conclude with suggestions for future research on work ability and implications for policy and organisational practice.